


Hoping for Paradise

by Writers_Have_Their_Own_Set_of_Rules



Category: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Movies 2001 2003), Tomb Raider & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate ending to Cradle of Life, Angelina Jolie and Gerard Butler were such an underrated bad-ass duo, But Lara puts him in his place, Everyone's back at Croft Manor, F/M, Fix-It, From Lara & Terry's POVs, However they still care for each other, Post-Finale, Relationship Discussions, Resolved Sexual Tension/Frustration, Second Chances, Terry still acted like an asshole, cover-ups, these two deserved better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-05 14:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17921000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_Have_Their_Own_Set_of_Rules/pseuds/Writers_Have_Their_Own_Set_of_Rules
Summary: Terry wakes up at Croft Manor after the showdown at the Cradle of Life, and naturally, he's shocked to see he's still alive. Lara's still pissed at him for almost betraying her again, however she's chosen to take the high road and send him on his way, if only to be rid of him. However, neither can ignore the connection that remains between them.





	Hoping for Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Bryce and Hillary fill him on how he made it out of the Cradle, Terry looks for Lara, seeking an explanation as to why he's still alive. Her reasoning will surprise him.

_"Silver eyes, hoping for paradise._

_I've seen it a million times."_

********

 

_"You do have authorization to kill me, so why don't you just do it then."_

_She only stared back at me, fear and despair crossing over her face, and I couldn't help but feel triumphant._

_"You don't have it in you to stop me," I chastised._ " _All your ideals, they're not real, I am. And you've loved me, so you're not going to choose them over me."_

 _She didn't move. And neither did I_.

_"Fine," I muttered irritably. And before I knew it, I was reaching for my gun, though I was sure I had no real intention of using it._

_Right?_

_Then everything went black._

************

_(Terry's P.O.V.)_

I slowly opened my eyes, and they were soon met with an immense white light.

"God?" I muttered aloud, thinking I was surely dead. "If it is you, I'll be honest, I expected it would be the Devil who'd come to collect me when the time came."

I heard two men laugh quietly in the background at my statement.

"Hate to break it to you Terry, but we're neither of them," I heard Bryce's annoyingly chipper voice exclaim. 

Nope, not dead yet, apparently.

"Where I am?" I asked, squinting against the afternoon light.

"Croft Manor," Hillary replied simply. "And I'm guessing your next question is about how you got here."

I nodded. 

"Would you prefer the long version or the short version?" Bryce wondered.

"Whichever is going to make the most sense to me," I stated, wishing they'd just get to the point already.

"Well, after you decided to change gears and go back to being an asshole, Lara knocked you out before you could take the box.  Then she dragged you from the Cradle and up to the entrance, where she had some of the tribe guys help pull you out. Then we gave you anesthesia to ensure you wouldn't wake up on the helicopter ride back home, and now here you are, waking up after laying unconscious for the last two days." Bryce finished his explanation and leaned back in his chair while I sat up, absentmindedly running my hand over my short hair. 

"Is she here?" I wondered. 

"Yes, last we saw her she was outside practicing again, shooting down the targets we have set up around the property," Hillary said. "She's done nothing else but immerse herself in her training since coming home, save for meals and sleep.  And she's mainly spent her time outside."

"No doubt in attempt to avoid me," I said. "Has she ever come to check on me?"

"Not while we've been here," Bryce replied. "Maybe she has when we've left for the day, but she hasn't told us and we haven't asked. We knew that what happened between you two in the Cradle was a touchy subject, so we let her tell us what she wanted to and left it at that."

"But we'll admit, ever since we've been back here, we can't help but wonder if all this training is meant to be a distraction," Hillary added. 

"From what?"

"From whatever the Hell she experienced down there."

 _Hell itself almost, or at least, that's what_ I  _got out of it,_ I thought, but I kept that notion to myself. 

"Well since you both seem to be my makeshift doctors at the moment, do you either of you think I'm well enough to get up and talk to her?" I asked. 

"I don't see why not, but do you think you really should?" Hillary responded.

"Yes, I need answers, like why the hell I'm still alive," I said coldly. "You both know she had authorization to kill me for any reason, and she made it clear to me that she could. And yet here I am."

"Alright, alright, no need to get snippy with us, we're just trying to help," Bryce said. "Knock yourself out, but don't be surprised if you're the only one who does the talking." 

"Fair enough," I relented. With that, I slowly got up and Bryce, who was sitting in front of the door, moved aside to let me through.

I walked out into the hallway, and breathed in the smell of lemon-scented floor polish.  I still couldn't believe that I was back here at Croft Manor after so long.  I closed my eyes, remembering when we had done almost everything together in those five months we spent as a couple. 

It had been immediate, the connection between us.  We had the same talents and the same goals, but the way we wanted to achieve said goals were quite different.  Lara was the reasonable one, she didn't fight unless she had to, and she aimed to do everything as legally as possible. I on the other hand was more "fight first, talk later," and I didn't care about what rules I had to break. Sure, I kept up the good boy act while working with the Royal Marines, but outside of that, I wanted nothing more than the freedom of having to answer to no one but myself.  However, Lara made me WANT to remain on my best behavior, because the way she saw me back then, it was something I found myself aiming to try and become. 

She thought I was like her. That we were two highly-regarded figures in British society, dedicated to and praised for our work, who thrived on adventure and searching for long-lost pieces of history.  I WAS like that, at least to the public eye, but it wasn't until meeting Lara that I actually began caring about that image.  During our excursions both inside and outside Croft Manor, I could almost forget the selfish desires that lingered in the back of my brain, the ones that told me the things I did were always going to go someone else's way, and never my own.  

But sooner or later every man shows his true colors, and mine could no longer remain hidden.  And despite the freedom that came with no longer pretending to be a complacent commander, I'd lost Lara in the process, and knowing I'd betrayed her hurt a lot more than I wanted to admit. 

I recollected myself back into the present, and immediately thought back to how well I knew my Lara.  I had a strong feeling she was no longer outside, or even training, because despite her tendency to go full Wonder Woman, even _she_ had her limitations.  And there was always that one room in the house I'd find her hiding out in when she either needed to cool off or just some time alone. 

Her father's private study towards the back of the house.  In the five months I'd known her, it became clear that that was her private hideaway, as well as her way of remaining close to him. 

I made my way through the winding hallways, occasionally pausing to run my hands over some of the trinkets I passed by, familiarizing myself with surroundings I hadn't had the pleasure of visiting in a very long time.  But in reality, I knew I was procrastinating, because I was apprehensive about seeing her again.  At least when I was unconscious, she could easily avoid me by being any part of the house apart from my own.  But now that I was awake and purposefully searching for her, she'd have to think of things to say, and it could go one of two ways. She'd either say everything she'd been holding back, or she'd walk circles around the topic and leave things awkward between us. 

Finally, I reached the study, and of course the door was closed. Taking a deep breath, I knocked before I lost my nerve, and within seconds, Lara whisked it open. 

She paused for a moment, taking in my presence, and then spoke. "Well, I'm glad to see you're awake finally. Otherwise your departure would've been quite awkward."

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking a step forward. Lara, however, didn't move away.

"MI-6 is set to pick you up and take you to Zurich tomorrow," she stated. 

"Are you sure that's not a euphemism for prison?" I countered.

"Why would they need to?" she wondered. "As far as they know, you did your job." 

"But I almost stole the box myself, and planned on..." I started, then it hit me. "Holy shit, you didn't tell them about that, did you?"

The corners of her mouth upturned slightly. "Did you really think I'd leave you alive just to get you thrown back in a cell? If those were my intentions, I might as well have pulled the trigger back there."

"Uh-huh, and yet you had every reason to do so, Croft," I pointed out.

"So instead, I reported the completion of your service to MI-6, as I said I would back there on that boat," she continued, ignoring my last statement. "I told the truth about everything leading up to Reiss's death, then I simply told them you'd been injured in the ensuing fight and were recovering at Croft Manor for a couple of days. When they wanted me to confirm that you'd done all we asked of you, I said yes. And it's true, you had. We'd done our duty by keeping the box away from Reiss and his goons. It was only AFTER our mission was completed that you suddenly decided to go rogue on me. However, I made a conscious decision that that wasn't a necessary detail to relay onto MI-6, because like I said, you proved yourself competent up until that point. And thus, they arranged to have one of their private jets take you to your new home tomorrow and transfer you the five million pounds, all as promised." 

"Am I to assume you're now looking for gratitude on my end?" I asked.

"Some gratitude would be nice, yes," Lara replied. "Or would you have actually _preferred_ that I shot you and left your body in the Cradle? Or better yet, left no body at all?"

I knew what she meant by that last part, and I shuttered slightly at the thought. Despite how much I loathed Reiss, his death had not been pleasant to watch. Witnessing him dissolve in the black acid that surrounded the box would no doubt haunt me for at least a few weeks. The skin peeling off, revealing his veins and muscles as he turned into one of those explorational science posters on the human body, it had been horrifying. And his screams of agony still echoed in my ears. But of course, the man had been defiant to the very end, reaching for the box even as he dissolved into nothing. I had been defiant as well, and to think that almost could've been me down there unnerved me. Even though it seems like Lara would've been a tad more merciful, what with her deciding to kill me first THEN push me in, there still wouldn't have been a body for anyone to find. I would've ceased to exist, just like Reiss had.  

"Okay Croft, you're right," I exclaimed finally. "I  _am_ grateful. However, that doesn't make me any less confused."

"About what?"

"Well for one thing, why you haven't let me into the study yet," I said, starting off with a joke. "Especially since I figure this conversation is headed somewhere considerably more private."

"Yes it is, so here, let me fix that," she said softly, and with that, she stepped away from the entrance and let me inside, closing the door shut behind me.  I went over and sat in her the battered leather desk chair, while she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. 

"I want to know why you didn't kill me," I stated, not looking her in the eye as I spoke. "The REAL reason. All you've explained to me so far is the aftermath of that decision, but you haven't told me why you made it."

She pursed her lips together, and even though it was mean, I couldn't help but add "I mean, first you tell me that you're leaving because you COULD shoot me, but when the opportunity arises for you to follow through with it, you don't. What? Was that warning just a way of masking your fears, and in reality, I was _right_ in saying you couldn't do it? Or was it all just one big bluff to try and keep me in line?"

Her gray-green eyes glared straight into my blues. "Did ever occur to you that even though I  _could_ shoot you, I never actually  _wanted_ to?" she asked me coldly. 

I went quiet, feeling like a prick now, so she continued on. "Don't laugh at me when I say this, but despite everything you did and I said, some small part of me had hoped you changed. Maybe those years in prison taught you something, and you'd use this second chance I gave you to your advantage. To build a better life for yourself." Then she sighed. "Clearly, I was wrong." 

"And yet here I am, still being offered that second chance to start over," I commented. 

"Well, you refused to take it on your own, so now I'm doing it for you," Lara replied. "Like I said, MI-6 is sending over some agents to bring you to Zurich tomorrow. Are you fine with that location?"

Her mouth was in a thin line as she asked that last question, so clearly, this wasn't the best time to be picky. "No, no, Zurich works," I replied. It wouldn't have been my first choice for starting over, but it would do for right now. 

"Alright, then it's settled," she replied. 

"But where am I supposed to stay until then?" I asked, though I was sure I already knew the answer to that one. 

Suddenly, Lara's poker face wavered, and she glanced down at the floor as she said "Bryce and Hillary think it's best that you stay here for the night, so we can continue to monitor your healing process, like making sure you don't have any blackouts or what not."

I nodded slowly, a little pleased to see her so flustered. No doubt me staying here was bringing back old memories for her. "Are you sure that's the only reason?" I couldn't help but add, smirking. 

Sure enough, as soon as the question left my lips, her nervousness was replaced with a scowl. "Look, soon we'll be out of each other's hair, and we can both move on with our lives. But for tonight, can you at least TRY to be civil, because I'm really in no mood for your antics today. I have work I need to finish up in here, and then I'll be joining you for dinner later. Since we've discussed what we need to discuss, I'd like to put all that Cradle nonsense behind me and just have a peaceful evening. Can you handle all that, at least?" 

I nodded, because I could tell by her tone that Lara meant business at this point. "No problem Croft, a peaceful evening is in order then." 

She sighed and smiled a bit. "Thank you," she said softly. "You can go now." 

"Oh, uh, alright then," I said awkwardly. I stepped out of the room and heard the door 'click' closed as soon as I was back in the hallway. I turned around, and I could see Lara's shadow through the door crack; she hadn't moved away, and I was sure it was because she was listening for the sound of my retreating footsteps.  Sighing, knowing she really did want me to leave her alone at this point, I headed back towards what I assumed would be my room for the night. 

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Lara was holding something back. Something big, something that'd been eating away at her the last couple of days. But as I much as I wanted to find out what it was, I resigned myself to be patient. I promised her a peaceful evening and I wanted to follow through with that, especially since I'd annoyed her enough already. She would tell me what was bothering her on her own, because another thing I knew about her?

No matter how much she tried to close herself off, eventually, she'd break down and become vulnerable with me.  

And I had feeling this time wouldn't be any different. 

 ************

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics (and story title) from "Silver" by The Neighbourhood. 
> 
> I really like this movie, but especially all the scenes with Lara & Terry; Jolie and Butler worked so well together! Though it made sense, I always thought these two deserved a better ending, so I decided to give them one. Feel free to leave me your thoughts in the comments section, I'd love to know what you think so far!


End file.
